#culturalerasure — Public Fediverse posts

Border agents pepper-spray #Arizona border 'tree sit' #protesters, arrest activist who locked self to truck

#BorderPatrol raids campsite of protesters trying to save last tree set to be razed by #BorderWall construction in Southern #Arizona

Mia Kortright
Updated Oct 7, 2026, 10:34 pm Originally posted Oct 7, 2026, 8:51 pm

"Activists trying to protect a centuries-old cottonwood in the path of border wall construction in Southern Arizona stopped work again Wednesday, after one person locked themselves to a construction vehicle and another remained in the tree.

"Border Patrol agents used pepper-spray on the protesters Wednesday evening, while the woman was tethered to a gravel hauling truck used in border wall construction.

"That marked the third day the site, dubbed "Camp O:Shad" by the activists, has been raided by Border Patrol agents.

"An activist had spent nearly seven hours locked to a gravel hauler used in construction Wednesday evening, and was still locked to it after 9 p.m. when BP agents attempted to take her into custody while using what appeared to be tear gas on surrounding protesters. It took agents about 30 minutes to saw through the device she used to lock herself to the vehicle before she was driven away from the site in a white Border Patrol pickup truck around 10:30 p.m.

"Other protesters could be heard on a live stream of the incident, calling 'We love you' to her throughout the evening.

"Minutes earlier, the activists said, agents started firing pepper balls while pushing the hauler with the person still locked to it. Demonstrators said agents also threatened to take her 'to the middle of nowhere where no one can hear you scream.'

"Activists said they called 911 Wednesday evening and asked for medical help. Patagonia Fire Department personnel responded, but were 'turned away' by Border Patrol officials.

"The group has camped at a property in the small hamlet of #LochielAZ since late July in an effort to prevent a small grove of Frémont #CottonwoodTrees , each estimated to be about 200 years old, from being demolished in #BorderWall construction.

"Construction crews this summer razed three of four in a cluster on the side on the United States side of the border. The final one, which the group named 'Grandmother,' was knocked down on Monday, the first day of the raid."

Read more:
https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/100726_lochiel_protests/border-agents-pepper-spray-arizona-border-tree-sit-protesters-arrest-activist-who-locked-self-truck

#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #USPol #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred
#CulturalErasure #LochielAZ #Sonora
#DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance #ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders

For a Border Tribe, Trump’s Wall Is a Betrayal: ‘They Want to Erase Us’

By Reis Thebault
Visuals by Anna Watts
Sept. 17, 2026

Reis Thebault and Anna Watts reported from the #TohonoOodhamNation and #OrganPipeCactus National Monument. They traveled nearly the entire length of the tribal reservation’s 62-mile border with #Mexico.

"An escalating confrontation on Native land southwest of Tucson threatens to upend decades of uneasy cooperation between the #TohonoOodham and the United States."

Read more:
https://www.tonation-nsn.gov/nowall/latest-news/

#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #TohonoOodham #USPol #Mexico #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred #CulturalErasure #LochielAZ #Sonora #DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance #ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders

#CulturalGenocide on a day that celebrates #Genocide! Way to commemorate #IndigenousPeoplesDay, eh, #USGovt?

Judge rejects emergency request to halt border wall work on O’odham Nation
Court denies move to halt Trump admin construction set to start #ColumbusDay along Mexico border of Southern Az reservation

Paul Ingram, Posted Oct 8, 2026

"A federal judge rejected the #TohonoOodhamNation 's injunction request Thursday, allowing the #Trump administration to begin removing #saguaros and #ocotillos in the path of #BorderWall construction in #Arizona early next week.

"On Monday, Riyaz A. Kanji, an attorney for the #TohonoOodham Nation, filed an emergency motion asking the Washington D.C court to intervene because the case has moved to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and they have said they will not listen to arguments until later this year. The appellate court asked attorneys representing the Department of Homeland Security to file motions by Oct. 15 with replies from the tribe scheduled for Oct. 22.

"However, #DHS officials have said they intend to 'commence significant activity on the reservation in furtherance of his border project' on Monday, Oct. 12. This will include the removal of thousands of saguaros and ocotillo that stand in the path of the construction project, Kanji wrote. 'The destruction of massive numbers of #SaguaroCacti that will commence early next week absent intervention by this court constitutes quintessential irreparable harm.' "

Read more:
https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/100826_oodham_appeal/judge-rejects-emergency-request-halt-border-wall-work-oodham-nation/

#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #TohonoOodham #USPol #Mexico #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred #CulturalErasure #LochielAZ #Sonora #DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance
#ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders

#TohonoOodham , faith leaders gather in prayer to protect #SacredLand from #BorderWall

By: Kenny Darr
Posted 8:00 AM, Oct 08, 2026 and last updated 8:35 AM, Oct 08, 2026

#TucsonAZ (KGUN) — Tohono O'odham leaders and people of many faiths gathered in prayer Wednesday in the Nation's #SanXavier District, with one message: protect this land from the border wall.

"The vigil comes days after crews cut down a #cottonwood estimated to be about 200 years old near #Lochiel to make way for the wall. Tohono O'odham Chairman #VerlonJose said crews plan to return Oct. 12 to start clearing vegetation along the Nation's border, including #saguaros.

" 'When people ask me what I think about the border and how does it make me feel, I tell them it is if someone got a knife and dragged it across my heart; it's a scar that never will be healed,' Jose told the crowd.

"The event began with a procession from Mission San Xavier del Bac to the San Xavier Community Center. Dozens walked carrying signs that read 'Tree spirits stand tall' and 'Don't let sacred saguaros be crucified like Jesus.'

"Jose became emotional as he addressed the crowd, telling them he had been crying even before he arrived. He said elders who once fought the wall have since died, and that some who remain say they don't want to live to see it built.

" 'The Tohono O'odham Nation will not stand down,' Jose told the crowd.

"In an interview with KGUN 9 after the vigil, Jose said #burial and #ArchaeologicalSites sit along the border in the wall's path.

" 'How would you like it if it came to your home, your apartment, to your gated community, and I destroyed your front yard, your backyard, and then asked you where are your relatives buried?' Jose said.

"He said those sites are known to the Nation and are kept private to keep them protected.

"Jose told the crowd the Nation's Legislative Council recognizes the #saguaro as a person.

" 'When you kill those, you're killing our children. You're killing our elders. You're killing our people, and we must protect them,' he said.

"On Monday, federal agents raided a #ProtestCamp near Lochiel in the #SanRafaelValley , where activists had kept a round-the-clock tree-sit for 71 days. Contractors then cut down the last of four #cottonwoods marked for removal. Activists said more than 10 people were arrested."

Read more:
https://www.kgun9.com/news/community-inspired-journalism/southside-news/tohono-oodham-faith-leaders-gather-in-prayer-to-protect-sacred-land-from-border-wall

#IndigenousNews #IndigenousSovereignty #TohonoOodham #USPol #Mexico #BorderPatrol #ProtectTheSacred #CulturalErasure #LochielAZ #Sonora #DefundDHS #NoBorderwall #Resistance
#ResistanceIsFertile #TrumpsWall #TribalSovereignty #NoBorders

So, @corbden , while the damage has been done, this happened a couple of weeks ago...

Federal Court Hears #TohonoOodham Nation’s Challenge to #BorderWall Construction on #TribalLands

by Levi Rickert July 23, 2026

Excerpt: "During the hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, attorneys representing the Nation argued that the project would constitute trespass on Tribal lands and violate the Nation’s exclusive rights to use and manage its reservation and natural resources. After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Leon requested additional information from both the Nation and the Department of Homeland Security before making a ruling."

https://nativenewsonline.net/sovereignty/federal-court-hears-tohono-oodham-nations-challenge-to-border-wall-construction-on-tribal-lands/

#USPol #TrumpSucks
#CulturalErasure #ProtectTheSacred
#TohonoOodham #ArchaeologicalSite #DestroyingHistory #Fascism #NativeAmericanHistory
#NativeAmericanCulturalHeritage

@corbden

New images show Arizona archaeological site scarred by border wall work

Henry Brean May 7, 2026 Updated Jul 11, 2026

Excerpt: "'Lawless act'

It’s unclear how border security officials plan to protect what’s left of the geoglyph. McSpadden said the roughly 50-foot-wide path that was scraped through the fish appears to be where the second wall is going to be built. “From where I stood, that (50-foot) blading goes as far as the eye can see in that valley,” he said."

https://tucson.com/news/local/border/article_20b0276a-2ed2-4f13-8e91-93dd9fb669b5.html

#USPol #TrumpSucks
#CulturalErasure #ProtectTheSacred
#TohonoOodham #ArchaeologicalSite #DestroyingHistory #Fascism #NativeAmericanHistory
#NativeAmericanCulturalHeritage

And on top of everything else...! 😠

#Epstein had #petroglyphs moved for décor at #ZorroRanch, federal records show

By Clara Bates, Mar 3, 2026

"Over the years at Zorro Ranch, Jeffrey Epstein instructed his staff multiple times to move petroglyphs estimated to be hundreds of years old for the purpose of decoration, U.S. Justice Department emails and photos released in January show.

" 'Petroglyph rocks moved to the main house,' a Zorro property manager wrote in a 2001 project memo emailed to Epstein, noting 'JE to let us know the size, location and how many rocks he would like.'

" 'Jeff to find larger rocks,' the manager wrote a few days later.

"In a 2014 email to former Microsoft executive and paleontological researcher Nathan Myhrvold, Epstein asked, 'how do i cut and polish … the granite with petroglyphs on the ranch?'

"Myhrvold didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

"When the ranch manager was designing planter beds the following year and asked Epstein whether he would be OK with rocks in one section, Epstein responded with a request: 'yes„ nice it would be great to get some big ones with petroglyphs even better.' (The email quotes in this story are verbatim, including typos.)

"The following year, Epstein requested 'large petroglyphs' be included in another outside design.

" 'The destruction and removal of petroglyphs and #CulturalSites at Zorro Ranch is deeply troubling, yet not surprising considering what has come to light about Jeffrey Epstein,' #JoeySanchez, chair of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, said in a statement. 'These sites hold profound significance as part of the living history of the #Pueblos across the Southwest, reflecting the enduring connection between our people and the land."

Read more:
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/epstein-had-petroglyphs-moved-for-d-cor-at-zorro-ranch-federal-records-show/article_6b1ce0e6-4b56-4df5-b869-986ef2a5e0a7.html

#EpsteinClass #EpsteinCrimes #USPol #CulturalErasure #ProtectTheSacred #Desecration

Plan to keep #Navajo #CoalMine open for 110 years runs into opposition

Arlyssa D. Becenti, Feb. 12, 2026

Excerpts: #BurnhamNM — "Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren has been open about his support for keeping the #FourCornersGeneratingStation operating until 2038, along with continued #CoalMining for the next 110 years.

"But community members and #EnvironmentalJustice advocates say the plan ignores the ongoing transition away from #FossilFuels and could endanger the health of people who live nearby. They voiced opposition at a public hearing at the Burnham Chapter Jan. 29.

"The Four Corners station, a coal-fired power plant near #FruitlandMN, is operated by Arizona Public Service Company and is scheduled to close as early 2031, and no later than 2038. In 2013, the Navajo Nation formed Navajo Transitional Energy Company to acquire the Navajo Mine from #BHP #BillitonNM Coal.

"Since then, #NTEC has also acquired coal mines in #Wyoming and #Montana, and in July 2018, NTEC acquired a 7% ownership stake in Units 4 and 5 of the Four Corners plant. Now NTEC plans to expand Navajo Mine and operate it for the next 110 years, until 2136, with support from Nygren and council delegates.

[...]

"#Trump orders fuel energy initiatives on #NavajoNation

"The attempt to expand coal mining on the Navajo Nation for 110 years comes after President Donald Trump signed his executive order Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 14241 in April 2025.

"The order said that to keep the U.S. economy strong, protect national security, and lower living costs, the country needs to produce more energy at home, including coal. Another order, 'Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production,' was signed in March, aiming to accelerate domestic production of critical minerals by streamlining permitting, financing, and federal land use processes.

"Since Trump signed the orders, the Navajo Nation has accelerated efforts to establish a dedicated energy office. While the idea had been discussed under previous administrations, it has only recently gained momentum. The office would function as a centralized body to coordinate energy policy, regulatory oversight and long-term energy development.

"Other actions by Navajo Nation leadership aimed at engaging with this renewed federal focus include holding public hearings on the potential revitalization of coal and continuing work related to #uranium production and the cleanup of legacy #contamination."

Full article:
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2026/02/12/navajo-officials-want-to-keep-coal-mine-open-but-locals-oppose-plan/88527065007/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/VjI3h

#ProtectTheSacred #NoMining
#NoMiningWithoutConsent #PeabodyCoal #DirtyCoal #DontNukeTheNavajo #BuuNygren #FourCornersStation #UraniumTransport #NativeAmericans #USPol #CorporateColonialism #CulturalErasure #EnvironmentalRacism #BigOilandGas #ProtectNature #ProtectOurEnvironment

#Navajos Protest Planned 110-Year Lease for #CoalMine Expansion

Coal Mines, #OilAndGas #Methane and #Uranium Transport: Deadly Mix on
the #NavajoNation

By Dine' CARE, Censored News, July 23, 2026

Dine' CARE (Citizens Against Ruining our Environment)

#WindowRock, #NavajoNation -- "On Monday, #DinéCARE. hosted a press conference with #BurnhamNM residents and other coal impacted community members at the Navajo Nation Council
Chambers.

"They called for the Navajo Transitional Energy Company (#NTEC) to withdraw its No Name Permit application, which seeks a 110-year, 11,526-acre coal mine expansion.

"The proposal threatens health, the environment, and Navajo cultural heritage.

"The Burnham Chapter formally opposed the permit in February 2026, citing incomplete materials, inadequate impact review, and lack of transparency.

"Advocates demand a thorough Environmental Impact Statement (#EIS), coal supply plan disclosure beyond 2031, and accountability from leaders. A decision is expected next month."

Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/07/navajos-protest-planned-110-year-lease.html

#ProtectTheSacred #NoMining #NoMiningWithoutConsent #PeabodyCoal #DirtyCoal #DontNukeTheNavajo #BuuNygren #FourCornersStation #UraniumTransport #NativeAmericans #USPo #CorporateColonialism #CulturalErasure #EnvironmentalRacism #BigOilandGas #ProtectNature #ProtectOurEnvironment

#Trump Bulldozed a 1,000-Year-Old #ArcheologicalSite to Make Room for a Second Border Wall

#DHS was in talks with the #WildlifeRefuge that hosts the ancient site to make sure it was protected, a local archeologist said.

Adam Federman
April 30 2026, 7:01 p.m.

"A rare archaeological site in the #SonoranDesert was bulldozed by a Department of Homeland Security contractor involved in building the latest sections of Donald Trump’s #BorderWall, according to multiple sources briefed on the incident.

"The area, in a remote corner of Arizona’s #CabezaPrieta #NationalWildlifeRefuge, is a nearly 280-by-50-foot etching in the desert sand known as an #intaglio.

"Last Friday, without any notice, a contractor working for DHS cut a roughly 60-foot swath across the middle of the intaglio, doing irreparable damage to the 1,000-year-old artifact.

"Cabeza Prieta, one of the largest wilderness areas outside of Alaska, also encompasses lands sacred to the #TohonoOodham Nation, which borders the refuge to the east. The O’odham have fought to prevent border wall construction across their reservation and during Trump’s first term largely prevailed; they also managed to protect the intaglio and a nearby burial site that they consider to be part of their ancestral lands.

" 'I liken it to destroying the Nazca lines — something that culturally we should have been relishing and promoting. Not destroying,' Rick Martynec, an archaeologist, said in a phone interview, referring to the hundreds of figures drawn into the deserts of southern Peru.

"The destruction was confirmed by a federal employee with direct knowledge of the incident, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal."

Source:
https://theintercept.com/2026/04/30/arizona-archeological-site-bulldozed-border-wall/

#USPol #TrumpSucks #CulturalErasure #ProtectTheSacred #TohonoOodhamNation #ArchaeologicalSite #DestroyingHistory #Fascism #NativeAmericanHistory #NativeAmericanCulturalHeritage

Gaelic and Scots now recognised as official languages

"Gaelic and Scots have now been recognised as official languages as part of a range of new measures coming into force on St Andrew's Day.

"The Scottish Languages Act, which MSPs voted through in June, also empowers parents to ask for a Gaelic school to be established in their area and aims to ensure that more qualifications are available in Gaelic.

"It includes powers for ministers to commission research into the use of Gaelic and Scots and establish teaching standards for the languages.

"Scotland's Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes called it a 'historic milestone'."

Read more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9891455007o

#CulturalErasure #CulturalPreservation #LanguagePreservation #Gaelic #Celts

A Native Community Preserves its Food Traditions

Members of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation are keeping #TraditionalFoodways alive in the face of #ClimateChange and human impact.

By Allie Hostler
November 21, 2017

Excerpt: "Changes in tribal food systems and lifeways began in 1853 as the #CaliforniaGoldRush brought a mass incursion of #WhiteSettlers. Making way for the newcomers and addressing the '#IndianProblem,' California paid a bounty for Indian scalps, which proved to be more lucrative than panning gold. The first session of the California State Legislature passed the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians in 1850, which legalized removing Natives from their land and separating Native families.

"Ceremonies were ambushed and villages were burned. In 1856, the U.S. government forcibly removed 1,834 #Tolowa to coastal concentration camps. By 1910, like many California tribes, the Tolowa population had dwindled—from more than 10,000 to just 504. Despite the 14th Amendment, the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians was not fully repealed until 1937.

"Relying on the knowledge held by the few families refusing to give up their traditional ways, the Tolowa persevered.

" 'My family managed to hold tight to our food, language, ceremony, songs, beliefs, and protocols,' says Jones. 'We fought to keep connected. We purposefully protected and passed along this way of being so it didn’t die.' "

Read more:
https://civileats.com/2017/11/21/a-native-community-preserves-its-food-traditions/

#SolarPunkSunday
#IndigenousFoodSovereignty
#TraditionalFoods #FoodSovereignty #Foodsecurity #IndigenousAgriculture #TolowaDeeni’ #AnimalProducts #IndigenousFoodSecurity #IndigenousFoodSystems #LandBack
#Reclaiming #Decolonize #CulturalErasure #Genocide #CulturalSurvival

The loss of Kun’tewiktuk on Kings Road
#IndigenousPeoples #FirstNations #MiKmaq #Membertou #Kuntewiktuk #CapeBreton #KingsRoad #NovaScotia #Canada #IndigenousHistory #ForcedRelocation #Land #Colonialism #CulturalErasure #ColonialAbuse #Reconciliation
https://the-14.com/the-loss-of-kuntewiktuk-on-kings-road/

“Weapons of Health Destruction...” How Colonialism Created the Modern Native American Diet

The Impact of Systematic Oppression on Indigenous Cuisine in the United States

#Frybread, sometimes called “#DieBread” or a “weapon of health destruction,” has multiple origin stories, and they all involve oppression and perseverance.

by Andrea Freeman, July 24, 2024

Excerpt: "On the hit television show #ReservationDogs, the only series ever to feature all #Indigenous writers, directors, and main cast members, the Indian Health Center invites rapper Punkin’ Lusty, played by real-life #Mvskoke rapper #StenJoddi, to perform his hit song '#GreasyFrybread.' [A song Dr. Lowry played during today's broadcast.] The occasion is #Diabetes Awareness Month. Lusty raps,

Baby girl looking deadly (Yeah!)
Why she acting all Rezzy (Yeah!)
Hotter than a pan of frybread grease!
Have a Native hittin’ Powwow Beats!
Gotcha Auntie in the kitchen
Like no he didn’t
Got her Gramama’s skillet
Like she ’bout to kill it!

The song solidly locates frybread within Indigenous culture.

Sofkee [a corn drink or soup] on the burner
Hokte Hokte [woman] head turner
Water baking powder
Choppin’ up that white stuff
All purpose flour
Gotta mix it right up
Hit the Rez with the Shits
They eats it right up! Watch the grease pop
Watch her waist drop
She got that blue bird bag [Blue Bird flour comes in a twenty-pound cloth bag and claims to be “The Native American Frybread Secret”]
In her tank top
he got that white powder
All over everything
She gettin’ to bussin’ man
But we ain’t cousins man!
We from the same tribe
But a different clan
She my Rez Bunny
And I’m her Red Man
She love my Tattoos
And my two braids
Frybread money at the Creek Fest get paid! On that!”

Foregrounding this song in the Health Center’s battle against diabetes underscores the other side of frybread’s legacy, also emblazoned on a T-shirt that announces 'Frybread: Creating #Obesity Since 1860.' #Cheyenne and #HudulgeeMuscogee #IndigenousRights activist #SuzanShownHarjo, who vowed to give up frybread as a New Year’s resolution, explains, 'Frybread is emblematic of the #LongTrails from home and freedom to confinement and #rations. It’s the connecting dot between healthy children and obesity, #hypertension, diabetes, #dialysis, #blindness, #amputations and #SlowDeath.' Reflecting on stereotypes that dehumanized Indigenous people to justify #colonization, such as the worn-out trope of Indians drinking 'firewater,' Harjo asserts that frybread love is another way to portray them as 'simple-minded people who salute the little grease bread and get misty-eyed about it.'

"In The #HeartbeatOfWoundedKnee, scholar #DavidTreuer introduces health educator #ChelseyLuger, who is #Ojibwe and #Lakota. Chelsey talks to Indigenous communities about the perils of frybread as part of her efforts to steer their diets in new directions, even in the face of limited food options. 'Sometimes people get defensive, but we are able to make the conversation positive. We say we grew up with it and like it and we say frybread is not power. We say frybread kills our people. It’s that serious. It causes diabetes and heart disease. We have to look at those colonial foods as a kind of enemy.' "

Read more:
https://lithub.com/weapons-of-health-destruction-how-colonialism-created-the-modern-native-american-diet/

#colonization #Colonialism #Decolonize #NativeAmericans #TraditionalFoods #FoodInsecurity #FoodSovereignty #IndigenousFoodSovereignty #Comods #CommodityBoxes #CulturalErasure

I'm listening to a very interesting broadcast with anthropologist Dr. #DavidShaneLowry (#Lumbee) where he talks about the origins of "#FryBread". Not traditional food (which I suspected), but based on rations given to Native Americans after displacement!

Intercultural Insights
October 14, 2025
On Tue from 11:30 am EST to 12:00 pm EST

Listen / download:
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/greasy-frybread--64844925?utm_medium=app&utm_source=widget&utm_campaign=episode-title&deep_link_value=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.spreaker.com%2Fepisode%2Fgreasy-frybread--64844925%3Futm_medium%3Dapp%26utm_source%3Dwidget%26utm_campaign%3Depisode-title&af_channel=widget

Wikipedia entry on frybread:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frybread

Show info:
https://www.wmpg.org/wmpg-podcasts/returning-the-land/

https://www.wmpg.org/show/tue1130/#

#colonization #Colonialism #CulturalErasure #Starvation #NativeAmericanHistory #NativeAmericans #TraditionalFoods #BoardingSchools #CommodityBoxes #Commods #Rations #Frybread #FoodInsecurity #WMPGFM #CommunityRadio #IndigenousVoices #IndigenousFoodSovereignty

We're Still Here: Why It's Still a Good Day to Be #Indigenous

By Levi Rickert, October 13, 2025

"Opinion. It’s a good day to be Indigenous.

Yes, even now. Even after what we witnessed this past week when the White House issued a proclamation for Columbus Day and failed to acknowledge #IndigenousPeoples’ Day. Even with the return of a presidential administration that has made no secret of its disdain for diversity, equity and inclusion (#DEI) efforts. And even though white nationalists continue to grumble at the idea of honoring Indigenous peoples at all—yes, it is still a good day to be Indigenous.

Being Indigenous doesn’t depend on who sits in the Oval Office. It doesn’t hinge on whether a president utters the words “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” or if federal websites decide to scrub Native achievements from their pages. Our strength is not defined by visibility in colonial spaces. Our strength comes from something much older, deeper, and more enduring.

We are still here.

Let’s talk about what happened. This past Thursday, the White House only released a proclamation for Columbus Day — nothing for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which has now been recognized in some form by more than 20 states and over 130 cities and towns. That silence was loud. But it wasn’t surprising.

After all, this is the same administration that stormed back into office declaring war on DEI initiatives. Federal agencies began purging mentions of contributions by people of color. Even the Defense Department — prior to renaming itself the Department of War — removed references to the #NavajoCodeTalkers from its website. It took serious backlash from Indian Country for them to quietly restore those mentions.

And just last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced he would not rescind the Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers who killed as many as 300 Lakota people — most of them unarmed women, children and elders — at the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre. The pattern is clear: This administration will honor those who committed atrocities against Native peoples while erasing the contributions of those who served with distinction.

So no, we weren’t shocked when Indigenous Peoples’ Day was erased at the federal level. But we’re also not deterred. We’ve always had to fight to be seen. And we’ve never needed permission to celebrate ourselves."

Read more:
https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/we-re-still-here-why-it-s-still-a-good-day-to-be-indigenous

#CulturalHeritage #CulturalPreservation #CulturalErasure #IndigenousPeoplesDay

Oh, I guess we need to focus on how GOOD slavery was -- for white people!!! smh

Trump escalates attacks against Smithsonian museums, says there’s too much focus on ‘how bad slavery was’

By Kit Maher, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn
August 19, 2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/19/politics/trump-slavery-museum-smithsonian

#USPol #TrumpIsARacist #TrumpIsAWhiteNationalist #WhiteSupremacy #SmithsonianMuseum #ErasingHistory #CulturalErasure #Slavery

via @indybay

Tribes, enviros speak out against trailer bills to fast-track #DeltaTunnel project

“Delta tribes deserve a responsible and equitable approach to water management in the state that does not require jamming a tunnel through the Delta, destroying our ancestral homelands and waterways, or desecrating sacred sites and ancestral remains,” said Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair with the #ShingleSpringsBand of #MiwokIndians.

by Dan Bacher
Mon, Aug 11, 2025 4:19PM

Sacramento, CA – "On an unusually mild summer day, Tribal leaders and environmental justice advocates met with legislators at the State Capitol on July 16 for the 2025 Day of Action for #WaterJustice.

"They urged the legislators to reject Governor Newsom’s proposed trailer bills that they say would fast-track the Delta Conveyance Project (#DCP) and bypass critical #EnvironmentalProtections at a time when the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is in unprecedented ecological crisis — and a number of fish species are on the edge of #extinction.

"The day-long event started with meetings between Tribal members, environmental advocates and legislators to urge support for 'equitable, science-based water solutions' that protect the #BayDelta and to reject the financially reckless Delta Conveyance Project that threatens ecosystems, Tribal sovereignty, and public health, according to a statement from #RestoreTheDelta.

[...]

"At the press conference on the Capitol steps, advocates called on lawmakers to reject trailer bills that would provide CEQA exemptions for the #DeltaConveyanceProject, circumventing existing law, court rulings and public opinion.

"Specifically, the coalition called on lawmakers to:

- Vote NO on SB 72 that undermines the #DeltaReformAct and sets arbitrary water supply targets;

- Vote YES on AB 362 that protects tribal beneficial uses of water and to;

- Vote YES on AB 263, extending emergency protections currently in place for the #ScottRiver and #ShastaRiver, a high priority for the recovery of #CohoSalmon.

"Speakers at the press conference included representatives from the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians and the #WinnememWintu Tribe, as well as elected leaders and representatives from Restore the Delta, #SierraClub California, #FriendsOfTheRiver, #DefendersOfWildlife, #SanFranciscoBaykeeper and the #DeltaCountiesCoalition.

"Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, began the press conference emphasizing the harm that the Delta Tunnel would cause to Tribes and #disadvantaged communities.

" 'Delta tribes deserve a responsible and equitable approach to water management in the state that does not require jamming a tunnel through the Delta, destroying our #AncestralHomelands and waterways, or desecrating #SacredSites and ancestral remains,' said Tayaba. 'Our culture and identities are intrinsically tied to the Delta. There is no price tag worth paying that would ever justify the harm done to us or the unquantifiable costs that Tribes and disadvantaged communities would ultimately bear.'

"Gary Mulcahy, Government Liaison with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, followed Tayaba by stating, “There is nothing about the Delta Tunnel Project that significantly benefits anyone except #BigAg and south of the Delta water agencies, while putting #EndangeredSpecies, tribal cultural resources, and disadvantaged communities and the viability of the S.F Bay-Delta itself at risk. #CEQA exemptions continue to attempt to erase Tribes from #WaterGovernance.”

[...]

" 'Instead of wasting ratepayer money to keep pushing this expensive environmental justice debacle, we need to sees investments in local water supply like #RecycledWater, and the Freshwater Pathways program that would improve Delta levees to keep communities safe and improve State Water Project reliability in an emergency. We urge a commitment to vote NO on the return the Delta Conveyance Project and Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan bills,' Wagner said."

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2025/08/11/18878845.php

#WaterIsLife #TribalGovernance #CulturalPreservation #CulturalErasure #BigAgriculture #BigWater #GavinNewsome #CaliforniaPol #Graywater

Recall that Putin justified invasion because Ukraine was "oppressing" Russian speakers?

Now Russia will effectively ban Ukrainian-language education in schools in occupied Ukraine starting on September 1.

(Institute for the Study of War, 25 June 2025)

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-occupation-update-june-26-2025

#Ukraine #Russia #War #CulturalErasure

Ancient DNA confirms New Mexico tribe’s link to famed Chaco Canyon site

By CHRISTINA LARSON
Updated 4:12 PM EDT, April 30, 2025

"For the first time, a federally recognized #Indigenous tribe in the U.S. has led research using DNA to show their ancestral history.

"The #PicurisPueblo, a sovereign nation in #NewMexico, has oral histories and cultural traditions that link the tribe to the region of #ChacoCanyon, one of the ancient centers of #Pueblo culture and society.

" 'We’ve been telling our stories as long as time immemorial,' said Picuris Lt. Gov. Craig Quanchello. But he said those traditions were often 'overlooked and erased.'

"As members of the Picuris Pueblo seek a greater voice in shaping decisions about the future of Chaco Canyon, where debates about oil and gas drilling loom, leaders including Quanchello decided that using DNA sequencing to complement or corroborate their oral histories could be a useful tool. The group began a collaboration with an international team of geneticists.

" 'The DNA could help us protect' our heritage, he said. 'Now we can say, ‘This is ours, we need to protect it.' "

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/picuris-pueblo-chaco-canyon-dna-a86588a281c70921e0c1920ff7b6b5d7

#CulturalErasure #CulturalGenocide #Colonialism #LandBack #StolenLand #IndigenousHistory

#PortlandME #ChildrensMuseum loses federal grant intended for #WabanakiHistory programs

by Gillian Graham, Portland Press Herald, Maine
Sat, April 12, 2025 at 4:06 AM EDT

"The Trump administration has terminated a nearly $250,000 grant the Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine was using for programs about #Wabanaki culture and history.

"The Portland museum was awarded the money last year from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and was already deep in the process of developing a project that includes programs for schoolchildren and other visitors, curriculum support for teachers and a play adapted from a children's book.

"Then an email arrived late Wednesday night notifying Executive Director Julie Butcher Pezzino that the grant has been terminated, casting uncertainty on how the nonprofit organization will pay for the project.

" 'It sort of feels like the rug was pulled out from under us in the middle of an important project,' she said. 'It's pretty brutal. It's a big loss in promised funds for an organization like ours.'

"The children's museum is among the many #museums, #libraries and other organizations across the country that are now scrambling to deal with the loss of funding they depended on to operate.

"President Donald #Trump signed an executive order declaring the Institute of Museum and Library Services [#IMLS], the primary federal support for U.S. libraries and museums, 'unnecessary' and vowing to eliminate or nearly eliminate it. Weeks later, he placed the federal agency's entire staff on a 90-day leave.

"This week, the #MaineStateLibrary laid off 13 staff members — nearly one-third of its staff — and closed for two weeks to restructure its operations because its funding from #IMLS is indefinitely suspended, according to State Librarian #LoriFisher.

"Maine is among more than 20 states suing the federal government over its attempt to shutter IMLS. That suit also challenges Trump's targeting of the Minority Business Development Agency and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

"The IMLS last year awarded $266.7 million in grants, research and policy development to museums, libraries and related organizations.

"The children's museum was awarded the $224,143 Museums for America grant in August, the first time in two decades it had received a grant from the IMLS.

"The museum had already received a $40,000 reimbursement from the grant funding and had requested another $15,000 reimbursement. But that second reimbursement never came and with Trump's comments about eliminating the agency, the museum staff and board were worried about the funding even before it was canceled.

" 'We had some concerns and suspicions, given the news and the termination of all the staff members at IMLS,' Butcher Pezzino said. 'That didn't feel like it would bode well.'"

Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/childrens-museum-loses-federal-grant-080600799.html

#CulturalErasure #TrumpIsABully #USPol #NativeAmericanCulture #WabanakiConfederacy #MaineFirstNations #History #ErasingHistory
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #IndigenousPeoplesDay

I don't blame them!

#KristiNoem banned by two more #NativeAmerican tribes in #SouthDakota

Governor, plagued by dog-killing story, unwelcome in 20% of her state after she accused tribal leaders of benefiting from cartels

Dani Anguiano
Mon 13 May 2024 19.52 EDT

"The move by the #YanktonSioux tribe and the #SissetonWahpetonOyate tribe last week follows criticism from the governor who has – without evidence – accused tribal leaders of 'personally benefiting
from drug cartels. The #Oglala, Rosebud, #CheyenneRiver and #StandingRockSioux tribes banished Noem earlier this year.

"In a statement announcing the ban in April, the #RosebudSioux said the decision was based not only on Noem’s recent comments but an 'ongoing strained relationship' with the governor, who took office in 2019.

"The tribe cited Noem’s support of the #KeystoneXLPipeline, her opposition to #checkpoints on reservation borders established by the #CheyenneRiverSioux and Oglala Sioux during the pandemic, and her support of the removal of 'significant sections' of #NativeAmerican history from state social-studies standards, among other issues.

"'Governor Noem claims she wants to establish meaningful relationships with tribes to provide solutions for systemic problems. However, her actions as governor show blatantly otherwise,' the tribe said in a statement.

"'Her disingenuous nature towards Native Americans to further her federal political ambitions is an attack on tribal sovereignty that the Rosebud Sioux tribe will not tolerate.'"

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/13/kristi-noem-banned-tribes-south-dakota

#StandWithStandingRock #NoKXL #CulturalErasure #FirstNations #NativeAmericanNews

This story about Yale removing "Israeli" from "Israeli Couscous" is nearly identical to when Air Canada called them "Pearl Pasta" when they were clearly Israeli Couscous (which isn't even couscous)

This is the Freedom Fries of Israeli erasure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-V2P0QgA4

#Yale #AirCanada #IsraeliErasure #Israeli #IsraeliCouscous #CulturalErasure #FreedomFries

Wildfires and Cultural Erasure: The Struggle of Indigenous Communities
#IndigenousCommunities #FirstNations #KanakaMaoli #Environment #ClimateChange #Wildfires #IndigenousStruggle #CulturalErasure #RecordSeason #CulturalBurning #EcologicalCrisis #Struggle
https://the-14.com/wildfires-and-cultural-erasure-the-struggle-of-indigenous-communities/

' You know, it’s very disturbing for us, as Kānaka Maoli, to see the headlines and ... see Lahaina as this tourist town, as if that’s all it is, because, for us, it’s so much more. And the tourism is part of the commodification of our culture. It’s part of the erasure of our culture. That narrative literally just takes us out of the picture. And, you know, without Hawaiians, there would be no Hawaii... '

#Hawaii #wildfires #Lahaina #CulturalErasure #TraditionalCulture

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/8/11/noelani_ahia_maui_wildfires